Start a Fire
by QueenieK07
Summary: This is a mildly fluffy Ariadne/Arthur fic based on Ryan Star's "Start a Fire." This is my first true fanfic. Rated T for implied situations
1. Chapter 1

**Start A Fire**

**Disclaimer: While this story in particular is mine, Inception does not belong to me, it was the lovely work of Christopher Nolan, and "Start a Fire" also does not belong to me, it belongs to the ridiculously talented and sexy Ryan Star.**

_I remember when you said your fathers asleep._

_I remember swimming as our clothes drifted off to sea._

_So wake up, wake up dreaming, and lie here with me_

_So wake up, wake up dreaming, and lie here with me. _

_Here we go, just lose contro,l and let your body give in, _

_To the beat of your heart as my hand touches your skin, _

_Is this love or just sexual desire?_

_We're gonna start a fire!_

I woke up in the middle of the night, my mind clouded by sleep, as I assessed my surroundings. I bolted upright as I realized I was in an unfamiliar room, and the spot beside me in the bed was empty. I immediately panicked, terrified that something had gone terribly wrong. I calmed myself then tried to remember how I got here, and I searched for my totem on the bedside table. As I held the die, I was comforted in knowing that I was not dreaming. This knowledge, followed by the sound of crashing waves outside cleared my mind a bit, and I remembered I was in the guest room of a gorgeous beach home, and that Ariadne was just down the hall in her room from her childhood summers. Her parents had wanted to meet me, the "mysterious man that stole their daughters heart," so they invited us to spend the weekend with them at their beach house. Of course, being a bit on the old-fashioned side, they couldn't possibly allow us to share a room, even though they had to know their daughter was no saint. We had been living together for 6 months now, and she was 22, for Christ's sake. But, far be it from me to question the authority of Ariadne's parents. This is, after all, their home, and if they want to hang on to the idea that their daughter is not having sex with the aforementioned man who stole her heart and the space beside her in her bed, that's their business. Maybe they're still hanging on to the illusion that she's a little girl. Regardless, her father scared the shit out of me, to be honest. While her mother seemed happy for Ariadne, her father seemed wary of me.

Which she most definitely was not. She may be small, and she may be female, and she may even be 6 years my junior, but there was nothing little girlish about her.

She was a creative, talented, stubborn, determined, beautiful woman who me intrigued from the moment she walked into the warehouse door behind Dom Cobb. As I helped train her, and as she managed to break into Cobb's secrets, I grew more and more fond of her. The kiss on the second level sealed it all. It was unprofessional I know, but she looked so kissable in her prim and proper business suit. I lost my self-control for a moment and did what I had wanted to do for weeks.

Not that it didn't pay off. When we awoke from the dream, she shot a quick glance my way, but she was immediately turned towards Cobb and Saito, and I could see the desperation in her eyes for several moments, and finally relief as she watched them both awake.

When we left the plane, we watched as Cobb successfully made it through immigration, and, though I probably should not have had any contact with her for the next few weeks, I could not resist slipping her a note assuring her that I was there if she needed to talk, followed by my cell number and hotel location.

Within a few hours of my arrival at my hotel, I received a knock on my door. She needed someone to talk to, having just come out of limbo. She wasn't sure what had happened down there or where to go from here.

I remained her companion over the next few weeks, but, as soon as she got through the shock of the inception and her journey to limbo, her curiosity got the best of her, and she had to ask me the question I knew was eventually coming, and I had to explain to her what that kiss really meant. I expressed how much she fascinated me, and I watched as she seemed to consider what I said, and what that meant, then she smiled. She beamed, really, and then she jumped at me, throwing her arms around my neck. When her grip loosened, I kissed her the way she deserved to be kissed. One month later, we had an apartment in Paris, just down the street from the university. Now, here I am, for the first time in 6 months, sleeping alone. I missed her.

I considered going to check on her, just to see her for a moment. Then I thought better of it. I could wait until morning. If her father caught me sneaking into her room…well, I would rather not see where that led. I settled back to attempt to get back to sleep when I heard the door creak open.

A few moments later, I saw the tiny form of Ariadne coming towards me.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi. I was just thinking about you," I replied, sitting up.

"I would have thought you would be happy to have a night to yourself. You're always complaining about how I hog the blankets and mess up the entire bed, since, you know, the sheets and blankets have to remain perfect even while you're asleep."

"Okay, first off, you do hog the blankets. Secondly, I sleep better when the blankets remain in an orderly fashion." She rolled her eyes. "And thirdly, well, yes, I still miss you. It must be love, huh?"

"Nah."

"Oh, then what is it?"

"Great sex"

"Well, that definitely helps."

She laughed. "Come on, let's go out"

"It's kind of late isn't it?"

"Only 2am. You normally stay up a lot later working on your damn research."

"Yeah, but we're also at your parents."

"They won't care."

"I wouldn't be so sure. I doubt your dad would like me going out with his daughter at 2am while staying under his roof. He keeps giving me the stink eye as it is."

"Oh, that's just his face"

I stared at her for a minute. "What?"

"He always looks like that, now let's go." She started pulling on my arm. I groaned but followed her, going towards the suitcase to get dressed. "Nope," she said.

"What?"

"We're just going down to the beach. You don't need to change." I groaned again but let her pull me outside.

"You better be glad I love you."

"Uh-huh."

I grinned to myself. That was my Ariadne. She always got what she wanted, one way or another. It's not like I really cared that much, but I'm the stick-in-the-mud Arthur. I have to put up some resistance.

She pulled me all the way out to the waters edge, then she let go of me and took a few steps forward. I just hung back and watched her as she absorbed her surroundings. She may be an architect who adores man-made buildings, but she still thoroughly appreciated nature as well. No doubt she was remembering fond childhood memories. Then she turned and smiled at me. Then she started pulling off her shirt.

"Whoa! Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing?"

"Skinny dipping. I used to do it all the time when I was a kid. You can join me or you can stay there, but I'm going in," she said, as she continued to pull off the rest of her clothes. I had a moment to admire her in the moonlight as she waded out into the water before she disappeared under the water, then bobbed back up, looking towards me with a huge grin on her face.

There was nothing to do but to join her, so I started stripping off my own clothes, piece by piece. When I was completely stripped, I waded out to waist deep then swam over to Ariadne, grabbing her as soon as I reached her, laughing at her squeal of surprise. Then I kissed her with every bit of the love I felt for her, which she returned with such intense passion that the kiss quickly became more. I knew I had to stop it before it got too out of hand. We were, after all, out on the beach in plain sight, and right in front of her parent's house. I don't care how hard her father sleeps, I was not going to take that chance, so I pulled back.

"I love you, but we can't do this here." She pouted at me. "Sorry, love. The last thing I want to take a chance on is your father miraculously waking up and looking out the window or stepping outside to see me ravaging his daughter."

"You just don't love me anymore."

"Don't be ridiculous. And you're referring to desire, not love."

"Oh, so then you don't desire me anymore, is that it?"

I rolled my eyes and began pulling her with me towards the shore. "You are impossible. Of course I desire you. And just as soon as we get back home I'll prove that to you. As many times as you can handle," I said with a wicked grin.

"I'm holding you to that."

"I wouldn't expect any less." We reached the shore, and I glanced around at the sand. "Um, Ari, where are my clothes?"

"What do you me—oh," she started laughing.

"It's not funny, Ari." I was quickly getting peeved. "Where are they?" She pointed back towards the ocean where I saw my clothes floating away. "Oh, bloody hell," I sighed, then dove back in the water, swimming for my clothes.

When I returned, Ariadne had controlled her laughter but was still grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Next time," she said, "You might want to make sure you put your clothes out of the way of the tide, point man."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: While this story in particular is mine, Inception does not belong to me, it was the lovely work of Christopher Nolan, and "Start a Fire" also does not belong to me, it belongs to the ridiculously talented and sexy Ryan Star.**

_I remember drinking as the stars were falling, _

_I remember dancing on the hotel's unmade bed. _

_So wake up, wake up dreaming, and lie here with me_

_So wake up, wake up dreaming, and lie here with me. _

_Here we go, just lose contro,l and let your body give in, _

_To the beat of your heart as my hand touches your skin, _

_Is this love or just sexual desire?_

_We're gonna start a fire!_

I hated waiting for him. He refused to let me go into the dream, insisting that this job needed his complete focus while he was under, and if he had to worry about me the whole time, he could not do that. I begged. He still said no. He has to be the only man that has ever been able to do that to me. Maybe it's because I let him get away with it. Not all of the time, of course, sometimes he did have to bend to my will. Ariadne gets what Ariadne wants most of the time, but when he got so adamant, like he did in this case, I did not try so hard, because I knew two things: 1. I was going to lose eventually anyway and 2. Arthur did nothing without reason, so if he was this adamant about her staying home and waiting in agony to find out if he was okay, there had to be a reason. Besides, it was nice to have someone worry about me and want to take care of me, and I guess I had to give in to someone eventually.

I poured a glass of wine and went to sit out on the balcony of the hotel room. It was a beautiful night without a cloud in the sky, so the stars were breathtaking. I don't know how long I sat out there, sipping at my wine, occasionally getting up to get another glass, and attempting to read a book, but the more I drank, and the longer I sat, and the longer it took for Arthur to come back, the more I started to worry. It's not that I had any reason to worry. In all honesty, most of the time the jobs Arthur took and the people Arthur dealt with were straightforward and not terribly dangerous, but sometimes…

Sometimes…

What if this job was one of those times?

And what if the job wasn't a success?

What if Arthur never came back home to me?

And, worst of all, what if Arthur failed and never came back home because of a design flaw in my levels? I could never forgive myself.

Just as I was getting good and worked into a frenzy, I saw a shooting star, and I made a wish for my Arthur to always come back to me. It's not like I thought it would necessarily work, but, hey, it was worth a shot right? It always was when it came to him.

I got up to check the time, and noticed it was nearing 3am, and decided that it was probably time to sleep. It would probably help pass the time more quickly and help me keep from worrying myself into a nervous wreck. I hoped that, when I woke up, Arthur would be home, and this whole thing would be over, and we would have some time to ourselves. Arthur promised me two weeks of just us. I was going to make sure he kept that promise.

* * *

I woke up and stared at the dim room, slightly hazy from the, I'm assuming, small amount of sleep I had. Looking at the clock, I saw that it was 6am, confirming that I had, in fact, only been asleep for 3 hours. With a groan, I flipped over and closed my eyes, hoping to easily and quickly sink back into slumber.

"Hey beautiful," said a deep voice somewhere in the darkness.

"Arthur?" I asked, suddenly wide awake, searching the room for him. I finally saw him in the doorway. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long. Just a few minutes before you woke up."

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I am."

"What took you so long?"

"Slight delay in starting the job, then a slight issue during, and I had to tie up a few loose ends. I'm sorry. I should have called, but I thought you might be in bed. I didn't want to wake you."

"That's sweet, but how many times have I told you that I don't care if you wake me up. Now, just come over here. I missed you."

He chuckled softly, but joined me all the same. In that damn suit.

"Arthur, you know my rule, you can't sleep in your suits. Lose it."

"Maybe I had an idea for getting rid of it piece by piece."

I turned towards him, "Oh really?" He just grinned at me, then kissed me. I smiled into that kiss and began pulling the suit jacket off, which is bloody hard lying down, but he helped a little. He didn't let me go any further, however, before he was pushing me back down against the bed. I whined in frustration, but Arthur paid no attention. Instead, he busied himself with ridding me of my clothes and kissing the life out of me. The man was nothing if not focused, controlled, and determined. It made for an interesting sex life, actually, because that focus caused him to pay incredibly close attention to me. Throughout the night, however, his control over himself would steadily slip, and I would be left with this wild man, and somehow that managed to be even better. I liked it when he was controlled and making sure I was enjoying myself, but there was something about when he lost control. It was incredibly sexy, and his frantic movements were nothing short of mind-blowing. For all of these reasons, rather than fighting him for control and fighting to remove his clothes, I allowed him to take the lead. We would get there eventually, and it was bound to be a raging fire of passion.

* * *

Afterwards, we were lying in bed watching television and just enjoying each other's company. I was comfortable, nestled against Arthur, warm and content.

These were the best moments—the moments when we were cuddled together, talking or watching television, and savoring the moment. They didn't happen nearly often enough. I looked at him at that thought.

"Do you ever wish you could just leave extraction? Just leave it and never come back? We have plenty of money, you know. We could settle down and just be together. Not that we have to stop working, you know. I have a perfectly good architecture degree, and you have your physics degree. What if we just quit?"

Arthur just stared at me for a moment, a look of intense curiosity on his face. I just stared back. "You don't really want that, Ari."

"Oh, I don't? And what, pray tell, makes you the expert on what I do and don't want."

"Ari, I remember how you got into this business. You were captivated with the pure creation of dreams, and you just couldn't stay away, even with Cobb and his subconscious at the helm. To this very day, I see the same captivation in you. You could give it up, but you would miss it."

"What about you though?"

"A degree in physics, and military background may provide me with options, especially with no financial push, but dreams…extraction…I was born to be the point man. Since I've met you, since almost losing Conn, since the intensity of the inception…I have considered leaving. To be honest, though, I cannot make myself leave right now."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I just know I want to stick with it a little while longer. Add to my stock of cash, maybe decide what else I want to do with my life, you know. "

"But eventually you want to get out of the dream business?"

"Someday, when we've _both_ had our fill, yes, I would like to get away from it. Maybe actually have a normal life with you. A life that won't require you to sit up for hours, drinking wine on some random hotel balcony waiting on me to come home."

Wait, what? How did he know that?

As if sensing my confusion he said, "You left the glass outside. Oh, and the bottle. A bottle that was over half full when I left, might I add. So the what and the where was fairly obvious, and, after spending a year living in the same space with you, I know your habits. Anytime you worry you drink and you tend to get forgetful." I just stared at him. "I'm your live in boyfriend of a year and the point man, love, I pay attention to details that concern you."

"What if I decided to quit?"

"You won't. Not now."

"Stop being Mr. Smarty-Point Man and just answer the damn question in the way it is asked."

"If you decide you want to quit, then quit. I can find another architect. Not nearly as talented, of course, and not nearly as beautiful, and the company won't be as good, but I'm sure I can find someone to suffice." Then he smiled that crooked, gorgeous smile, and all I could do was smile back…and make him dance around the room with me, which, of course, mainly consisted of me dragging him around while I tried to dance.

Want to know the best thing about dancing in a bedroom? The bed is wonderful for stunts. If you fall, you have something to break it. In most aspects of my life, it was Arthur who was there to break my fall, but when I was dancing, it was all about the bed. One day, when I finally decide to get away from dreams, probably the most difficult stunt I will ever pull, I'm going to need Arthur, but I might need the bed too, because some hardcore dancing may be in order.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: While this story in particular is mine, Inception does not belong to me, it was the lovely work of Christopher Nolan, and "Start a Fire" also does not belong to me, it belongs to the ridiculously talented and sexy Ryan Star.**

_Taking chances in the back of your car, _

_We burn and on my radio is "Rockin' in a Free World, _

_S.O.S., So obsessed, Oh you make me such a mess, _

_Why can't this just last forever, why, why, why? _

_So wake up, wake up dreaming, and lie here with me_

_So wake up, wake up dreaming, and lie here with me. _

_Here we go, just lose contro,l and let your body give in, _

_To the beat of your heart as my hand touches your skin, _

_Is this love or just sexual desire?_

_We're gonna start a fire!_

We woke up in the dream standing by a lake. Arthur's car was parked nearby, and Arthur was leaning against it. I looked at Arthur, at myself, and at my surroundings.

"What's going on, Arthur?"

"Oh, don't tell me you don't remember that first night."

"Of course I do, I just don't think I understand why…"

"It was just something I was thinking of, and I thought it might be a little romantic on our anniversary."

"Oh wow, it has been a year already, hasn't it." He just smiled at me, and I blushed, realizing that I didn't remember it was our anniversary. "Somehow I managed to forget."

He smiled again. "That really doesn't surprise me. You've been busy. Besides, it's my job to remember the little dates and details."

I smiled. "That was a great night. It changed everything."

"That it did."

"How different would it have been if I hadn't asked you about that kiss?"

"Not very. I was planning on telling you how I felt anyway. Why else do you think we ended up out here? It was time to take the chance on us."

"How did it work out for you?"

"Well, as I recall, it was an interesting night that turned into an amazing year, and I haven't regretted a moment of it. How about you?"

"Oh, it was an interesting night. But it's definitely been worth the shot." We just stood looking at each other and smiling. Then Arthur opened the back door to the car.

"Care to take a walk down memory lane?"

I smiled and nodded, climbing into the back seat. Arthur closed the back door and walked around to the other side to climb in beside me. I cuddled up next to him.

* * *

As she snuggled against me, she sighed contentedly. Then she started speaking in a whimsical tone, "You know, even after that amazing kiss, I still wasn't completely sure this was a good idea."

"I convinced you though."

"Yes, you did. I still claim your methods were unfair."

"All I did was tell you that you were smart, and that I had learned from the downfall of Mal and Cobb, so I knew we could do it without causing problems and without risking losing ourselves."

"Then you kissed me, you jackass, and you know how good of a kisser you are."

"Well…"

"Then hands started roaming, and there was no way to resist." I blushed a little at the memory. Even after a year and many more encounters, it was still embarrassing to know that sex was in the picture, literally, from day one. It seemed so wrong somehow, but it was also so right.

"I still can't believe it went that far that night. I still feel a little embarrassed on that. It was completely unplanned. You just make me lose control." There was more truth in that statement than I could ever truly express.

"Likewise. Either way, I'm not complaining. It was an amazing night. From that point onward there was no turning back, you know. We were taking this chance and that was that."

I just stared at her, and we spent the rest of the dream snuggled in the backseat, not speaking, not kissing, just lost in our own thoughts. Mine were memories of our relationship. I would like to think that she was thinking about our relationship as well.

When we woke up, we both automatically went for our pockets and the totems within, just to ensure that we were back in reality. We were back in the same warehouse from the inception. Ariadne had not understood why I brought her here at first, but when I brought out the PASIV, I think she understood that I was just taking us on a little trip down memory lane. But that was only half the story.

I watched her as she woke up in her own way. Ariadne always seemed to want to absorb everything for a moment when she woke up now. She liked to evaluate her surroundings and think on what had happened in the dream. When she smiled at me, I knew she was finished. I watched a little longer as she got up and just wandered around the warehouse, lost in thought.

I had my own internal battle occurring in my mind. Eames would say I was overanalyzing and to just get on with it. For some reason, as soon as the thought crossed my min, it made sense to me, which is not something I like admitting. Eames is not supposed to be right. He's not supposed to make sense. But it made perfect sense. So, I just blurted it out, right then. "Marry me," I said, holding an open ring box in my hand.

She turned so quickly she could have gotten whiplash. She just stared at me with her big doe eyes.

The longer she stared the more I started to feel like I had made a mistake, but what was the mistake? Was it too soon? The wrong place? She hates the ring? The advice I took from my internal Eames? Or was it just me? Or just the idea of marriage?

Just when I think I should probably just act like the whole thing was a big joke, she lunges towards me, giving me the best hug her tiny frame could manage.

"Is that a yes?" I asked, still somewhat unsure of what this all meant.

She pulled back and smiled the biggest and most beautiful smile I've ever seen and said, "Oh course it is, you idiot!"

"You do realize that marrying me means forever, right?"

"Oh, don't be silly, Arthur, divorces aren't considered taboo anymore." I just blinked at her. "Oh, chill, I'm only kidding. I'm very aware that marrying you means I have to deal with you and your suits forever, but, I guess that's just how it has to be, right?"

"I guess so."

"Then I guess, dear lady, that this ring is yours," I said, slipping it on her finger.

* * *

**Authors Note: Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed. This is actually my first true fanfic, and I'm such a huge A/A fan, and I love this song so much, and it just seemed so perfect, so I had to write it. I'm definitely up for some constructive criticism. Let me know if you notice any spelling or grammar issues or any other issues with continuity or anything at all.**

**Also, if anyone could manage a fanvid to this song with the A/A thing, I would give you all the cookies in the world. For real.**

**Also, I'm not a big fan of writing the Mature lemony scenes, but anyone who would like to take that upon themselves, go right ahead. We can collab or you can put it in as another "story." Just whatever. I just didn't want to go through the detailed ones.**


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